Labour hire licensing in the horticulture industry

Example

Is a licence required?

1. A grower needs their apples harvested. A horticulture recruitment company supplies pickers to the grower to pick the apples. The horticulture company invoices the farmer for the supply of the workers and pays the workers.

Yes.

The horticulture recruitment company is a labour hire provider and requires a labour hire licence.

The grower is a user of labour hire and must ensure they use only licensed labour hire providers.

2. A hostel operator approaches a vegetable grower offering to supply workers to pick vegetables for an agreed rate. The hostel operator is obliged to pay the workers.

Yes.

The hostel operator is a labour hire provider and needs a labour hire licence.

The vegetable grower is a user of labour hire and must ensure they use only licensed labour hire providers.

3. As above, except that the grower pays the workers directly at the hostel address each week.

No.

The hostel operator is not considered to be providing a labour hire service in this case.

The grower is likely to be the direct employer of the pickers and is responsible for ensuring all worker payments, tax and superannuation, work health and safety and Workcover obligations are met.

4. Farmer A employs farm hands to work on her farm. Occasionally during down times the farm hands help other farmers in the area who may have high workloads. The other farmers return the favour. The arrangements are on an as needed basis as the workers work on a regular and systematic basis for Farmer A, and have a reasonable expectation their employment with Farmer A will continue. The workers primarily perform work for Farmer A.

Employers should be aware that where workers are performing work for someone else, even on an ad hoc basis, they may still be responsible for obligations relating to that worker (e.g. for any injury that may occur while doing that work).

No.

Farmer A is not considered to be providing a labour hire service in this case.

The workers are in-house employees of Farmer A.

5. As above, except that Farmer A regularly employs more workers than required to run her farm. Workers are engaged on the basis that they will be regularly supplied to work for other farmers. A fee is charged for their supply including a profit component for the farmer.

Yes.

Farmer A is a labour hire provider and needs a labour hire licence.

The other farmers are users of labour hire and must ensure they use only licensed labour hire providers.